Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, the National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has called on Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to ensure that future elections are conducted freely and fairly, arguing that electoral outcomes should reflect the will of voters rather than the influence of political elites.
Aregbesola made the remarks on Tuesday while speaking briefly at the public launch of The Loyalist, a memoir written by the ADC’s National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi.
Referring to the 2023 general elections, Mr Aregbesola said the polls demonstrated that political officeholders and power brokers could no longer guarantee electoral success.
He pointed out that although the APC’s presidential candidate was declared the overall winner, the candidate failed to secure victory in his ward, local government area and home state.
According to Aregbesola, this outcome illustrated that control of state structures does not automatically translate into popular support at the ballot box.
He further cited voting patterns across different regions of the country. In the South West, where the APC governed all but one state, the party secured no more than 55% of the vote, with opposition parties sharing the remainder. In the South East, he said, the APC recorded just 5.8% of total votes cast.
He concluded that the results underscored a broader shift in Nigeria’s electoral politics, stressing that elections are ultimately decided by voters rather than governors. He urged those responsible for managing elections to commit to transparency and fairness, allowing the electorate’s choice to determine the outcome.
